Geography

Konkan in monsoon

The region consists of the predominantly arid to semi-arid
region of Saurashtra, Kutch and Cambay in the North. The Western Ghats and
Konkan lie along the coast of
Maharashtra and Goa. The Deccan plains of the Vidarbha, Marathwada in central and eastern
Maharashtra define the rest of the region. The vegetation varies
from tropical rainforests along the Konkan coast to thorny bushes
and shrubs in northern Gujarat. The major rivers in this region are
Narmada, Tapti, Godavari,
Zuari, Mandovi, Krishna, Ghaggar, Chambal and many other smaller tributaries of
other rivers. The Narmada and Tapti rivers generally form the
boundary between Northern and Southern India.

Overall, 83.66 % of the population is Hindu, 10.12 % Muslim, 4 % Buddhist with Christians
in Goa and Maharashtra making up the majority of the remainder. Marathi,
with about 73 million speakers is the most widely spoken language,
followed by Gujarati with about 46 million
speakers and Konkani 2.5 million speakers, all of
which are Indo-Aryan languages. [3].
As in other parts of India, a high level of multilingualism
is seen with English and Hindi being spoken as additional languages
in urban areas[4].

The average literacy rate of West India is around 76%, higher
than the national average of 70.5%[5].
The population density is around 290 per square km. The average
fertility rate is about 2.2, while the average household size is
about 4.7[5].

Gujarati culture is a blend of Hindu and Jain traditions. It has
also been influenced by the Parsis, who migrated to Gujarat from Iran about a 1000 years ago. Recently events like
Rann Utsav, International Kite Festival and Global Garba festivals
have been started to showcase it's culture internationally. Mumbai and Goa are renowned for their nightlifes. Bollywood has had a huge
impact on the lifestyle and culture of this part of India as Bollywood is situated in Mumbai.

Gujarati
cuisine is almost exclusively vegetarian. Gujarat is one of
three states in India, with prohibition on alcohol, along with Mizoram and Manipur[6].
In contrast, Maharashtra has some of the best vineyards
in India, with Nashik and Sangli districts being the
country's biggest grape-producing districts[7
].

Economy

Overall, Western India has relatively high standards of living,
although the city of Mumbai
suffers from extreme overcrowding due to immigration from across
the country. The region generates 20.34% of the national GDP of the
country, with an annual growth rate of 14.5% as of 2006[8].
The states generate about 23 % of the tax revenues of the
country. More than 85% of the households have access to electricity
with about 55% owning a television. Agriculture employs most people in the
region, while services have largest share in the
total GDP.